We are ready to help you get on the water and learn more about boating, safety, and seamanship. If you are new to sailing, we’ll give you the knowledge and experience you need to become a confident sailor. If you want to learn how to handle small or large powerboats, we’ll put you at the controls with a great instructor. Our school is public, non-profit, and exceptional. This is your community program, and we look forward to meeting you and getting underway!
We offer several options for students with little or no prior sailing experience to explore sailing for the first time. Learn to sail through dock-side lectures and hands-on experience at the OCC Waterfront Campus or at our partner facility at Marina Park.
Families can experience the joy of sailing together for the first time in our Parent and Child Sailing Class, while kids 7 to 15 years old can learn from our talented and fun instructors in our summer camps, holiday camps or after school sailing courses.
We are among the nation’s largest public boating education programs, annually enrolling 5,000 people of all ages in classes, seminars, and voyages. More than 60 staff members help us achieve our mission. We are dedicated to providing access to excellence in boating education. A hallmark of our program is its comprehensiveness. We offer courses in virtually all aspects of sailing, powerboating, seamanship, and navigation.
The School is operated by Orange Coast College, one of California’s largest community colleges.
Located on Newport Harbor, the School is open seven days a week. The School’s facilities include offices, docks, work shops and classrooms. The School also has an extensive nautical library. Three dozen boats are operated by the School, including dinghies, keelboats, cruising boats, offshore racers and powerboats.
Unlike the College, the School is not publicly funded. Course fees and other income make up about 70% of our annual $1.3 million budget. The remaining 30% is met from gifts made to our non-profit program through the Orange Coast College Foundation. Private giving is very important to the School. Donations of boats, marine equipment, books, and cash or securities from many sailors in our community has greatly contributed to our success.
1.47 acres with 300 linear feet on Newport Bay. Leased rent free from the County of Orange to the District for the purpose of “promoting the development of facilities and services needed by the public” and “operating a sailing and rowing facility for the advancement of marine oriented educational-athletic and recreational programs” The site was leased without any improvements to the land. Today the facility and its programs are models for other community boating programs across the country. The facility is managed by OCC Marine Programs.